Poll: Support for vaccines falls

The number of Americans who believe vaccinations are crucial to public health has fallen by 10 percent in the last 10 years, according to a new survey.

A poll for Research America found that 70 percent say vaccinations for diseases like measles and polio are “very important.” That number is down from the 80 percent in November of 2008 who said the vaccines are crucial.

{mosads}In the latest survey, 22 percent said vaccines are “somewhat important.” By contrast, 17 percent said this in November 2008. 

A majority of Americans also remains assured by the safety of vaccinations, with 32 percent saying they are “very confident” in the safety and suggestions for immunizations and 45 percent saying they are “somewhat confident.”

In 2008, while 32 percent said at the time they were “very confident” in vaccination safety, a majority, 53 percent, said they were “somewhat confident.”

Twelve percent in the 2018 survey said they are “not too confident,” while 6 percent said they are “not at all confident.”

Zogby Analytics conducted the nationwide poll of 1,004 individuals this month. The survey’s margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

Updated 10:19 a.m.